The Monkey Says: This is nothing new, but it is just more evidence that the Halos have absolutely no intention of removing Bourjos from the everyday lineup until he has been given every last opportunity to succeed.

The Monkey Says: The bit about his splits actually being better with runners on base perfectly encapsulates Rodney’s problems He throws hard and has a great changeup, but he quite simply doesn’t trust his own stuff, so he tries to be too fine, which doesn’t really work for him since his command is suspect to begin with. I don’t know if it necessarily a focus issue though as Fraudney is also just plain streaky, no matter what the situation, which indicates to me that his struggles are at least partly mechanical.

The Monkey Says: This is the first I’ve seen of Scioscia being slightly non-committal on making Mathis the primary backstop and putting some real pressure on him to perform offensively. Alas, Sosh was sure to hammer home that defense comes first at catcher, so I still think this means that Conger starts the season in Triple-A, but it does open the door to Bobby Wilson possibly seeing more playing time than expected.

The Monkey Says: I covered this a bit yesterday, but Thompson is in a make or break situation being out of options, but the decision to carry 12 pitchers bodes well for Chopper. Personally, I am rooting for him if only because he has been so persistent. I also think he could find a nice role for himself since he would profile as one of the few guys in the bullpen that could regularly pitch more than one inning in an appearance, an option Scioscia always likes having at his disposal.

The Monkey Says: Why? Is college expensive or something? Oh, by the way, you need to live in Cedar Rapids to qualify for the scholarship, meaning there is possibly one person reading this (according to my Google Analytics report) that might care about this news.

The Monkey Says: My boy Ersty is #12!!!! I’m sure some people think that is too high, but if anyone tries to argue it with me, they are going to get themselves punched right in the junk. Nobody talks bad about Erstad on this blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About Garrett Wilson

Garrett Wilson is the founder and Supreme Overlord of Monkeywithahalo.com and editor at The Outside Corner. He's an Ivy League graduate, but not from one of the impressive ones. You shouldn't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he is angry.